Spray shield for can openers



April 3, 1956 L. E. BODKlN SPRAY SHIELD FOR CAN OPENERS [ill 60,5)" Lam-627cc Bod/(I'll,

Filed Sept. 26

United States Patent SPRAY SHIELD FOR (IAN OPENERS Lawrence E. Bodkin, Jacksonville, Fla., assiguor of onehalf to Miles F. Hollister, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Application September 26, 1955, Serial No. 536,442 4 Claims. (Cl. 30-16) This invention pertains to spray shields attachable to can openers of the type comprising .a handle having a can-bead-engageable hook and a forward operating head in-the form of a generally triangular cutting punch.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved and simplified spray shield for attachment to can openers of the above mentioned type, and particularly to .provide a shield comprising improved means for attachment to a can opener.

Can openers operable to puncture the top Wall of cans and to fold inwardly a severed, generally trianguler-section of the top wall are in common use to open cans containing free-flowing liquids, including, for example, beer and carbonated beverages. As such openers puncture the can wall, the suddenly relieved pressure often causes the liquid to spray or spurt out of the punctured opening in a generally upward direction. This invention is directed to a shield readily attachable to a can opener of the ,top puncture type which will intercept and trap liquidsspraying or sporting from the punctured area.

While shields of several types have been heretofore suggested for the general purposes of the present shield, such prior suggestions have suffered from expensive complexity of the shields, interference with the normal .operation of the opener, inadequate shielding, and unsanitary design. Shields in accord with this invention overcome these objections, being small, inexpensive, formed of one piece, simple to package, readily attachable and detachable for cleaning or other purposes, yet firmly attached-so as not inadvertently to become detached, highly resistant to damage, sanitary, and simple to use, and {being arranged to offer no interference with the normal use of the opener.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic .of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation, partially in section, showing a shield in accord with this invention in use with a can and can opener;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the members of Fig. 1-;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view taken from below of the shield in operative position on a can opener, the opener being shown in fragment;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view, taken from above, showing the shield in full aligned with but separated from the can opener, shown in fragment;

Fig. 5 is a partially sectional side elevation of a shield of modified construction in use in connection with a can opener and can shown in fragment; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the modified shield taken from above.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a shield "1 is shown during use. The shield substantially covers the 2,740,194 Patented Apr. 3, 1956 whole upper surfaceof thetopz .ofliguid containing can 3 and a punchtype can opener lls .being operated to sever and curl inwardly in :a generally triangular portion 5 of the can top. Opener .4 comprises *a generally flat bar handle .portion 6, graspedby= thefingers 7 and joined at its forward end, by a humpportions offset upwardly from thehandle, to a cutter head portion 9. Hook 10underlies the hump 8 and is arranged to engage under the bead ll of the top of the can,.while the hump 8.spans the bead. Shield 1 comprises a bar .portion 12 defined ,between the .peripheraledge 13 :of :the shield ,and slot 14. Asecond slot 15 positionedashort .distance forwardlyof slot 14, aud of subsantiallythesame size; and shape .as slot 14, defines a second bar 16 which is disposed or nested in the cavity or hollow 1.7 ,under hump 8Q The opener and shield normally remain attached to each other and openingof thelcan is initiated byzplacing the opener in position to dispose itssharp puncturing point 18 in contact with the top of thfiCfil'lgfiSShOWIl in broken lines 18", thereby to dispose thels' hield in -the position indicated by broken lines 1' Hook 10 is engaged under can .bead 11, and with the parts in the broken line positions, the thumb 19 is pressed downwardly upon the shield, preferably immediately inwardly or forwardly of slot 15, thereby to press the shield downwardly from broken line position 1" to the solid line .position 1. Substantially simultaneously as the .shield is forced downwardly by the thumb, the fingers 7 'urge handle portion 16 in an upward direction pivoting theopener on hook 10 and causing-the point :18 to puncture the .P 2.

As seen in the top view {of Fig. 2, shield .1 may be of generally hexagonal shape, in plan, ,and comprises amain body portion 20 extending outwardly and forwardly from the area of attachment or attachment portion :around hump 8 of the opener, the body POIliOl'l 20 covering at least the full semicircular half of theareaof the can top in which the-puncture is made. Bar portion 12 is formed to extend along a part oftheperipheraledge .13 of the shield, between slot 14 and the edge, and thetends, such as end 21, of bar portion 12 arejoined to the-main .body of the shield. Bar 12 overlies the forward end of the handle portion .6vim mediately adjacent hump 8, and the hump extends upwardly through slot 14, .over bar 16 andat its forward portion downwardly into slot 15, there joining or extending into theoperating punching head portion 9. Bars .12 and 16 and portion 2 2,.accordingly, constitute the attachment portion of the shield.

The shield member 1, including bars ,12 and 16, comprises .an impervious, yieldable sheet of synthetic plastics material, typically ,a translucent polyethylene ,or polyvinyl plastics sheet approximately one-sixteenth inch thick. Slots 14 and 15 are formed, such ,as by .die cutting the sheet, to be slightly jlonger than the width of the handle 6. The slots are proportioned to "be slightly greater in width than the thickness dimension of the handle portion of the opener, and, when the shield is attached to the opener, it may slide slightly forwardly and backwardly on the hump, tilting the body of the shield downwardly and upwardly, respectively. Furthermore, since the shield comprises a yielding, bendable material, the body is readily bent downwardly against the top of the can, as shown in Fig. 1, by slight thumb pressure, and, upon raising the handle portion in the can opening procedure, the shield yields or bends readilyso as not .to interfere with the pivoting movement of the opener about the pivot established at the point of engagement between the hook and can bead.

The material of the shield and its thickness are selected to be readily yieldable, whereby no noticeable force beyond that normally necessary to open a can is required to bend or deflect the shield during the continuance of the can-opening motion of the opener. The shield is, however, suiiiciently rigid to be normally self-supporting. That is, when the shield is mounted on the opener in the position of Fig. 3, for example, it does not sag or droop appreciably from the position shown, and, if the shield is forceably deflected into some other shape, it returns, upon release from the deflecting force, into normal shape and position. characteristically, the return to normal or original shape may not be immediate but may take place over a period of a few seconds.

As shown in Fig. 3, the shield is attached, by means of bar portions 12 and 16, to the opener sufficiently securely to prevent inadvertent removal of the shield from the opener, but at the same time not so securely as to make intentional removal difficult. More particularly, if handle portion 6 is moved downwardly from its Fig. 3 position sufiiciently to bring head portion 9 flat up against the under surface of body portion 20 of the shield, the shield may be pulled forwardly to cause bar 16 to slide along the head 9 and under point 18, while bar 12 slides along the upper surface of head 9 and finally off over point 18. During removal bar 16 is forced and slightly stretched downwardly, while bar 12 and the portion 22 of the shield which lies along the long forward edge of slot 15 are forced and slightly stretched upwardly.

With the shield member 1 removed, as shown in Fig. 4, it will be apparent that it may be simply and readily cleaned. It may also be simply and readily reattached to the opener by tilting the opener or shield from the positions shown and by then passing point 18 progressively under bar 12, up through slot 14, across the upper width of bar 16, and down through slot 15, and thereafter continuing to move the opener and shield to slide bar 16 along under head 9 until it engages in the cavity 17 under hump 8, whereupon bar 12 will have become engaged behind hump 8 across the upper surface of the forward end of handle 6.

It will be seen in Fig. 4, and in-the other views, that slots 14 and 15 are of substantially the same size and shape and are coextensive and parallel to each other and to the adjacent edge portion of the shield. The bars 12 and 16, also, are of substantially the same size and shape and are coextensive and parallel to one another. The whole sheet material member 1 is preferably of constant thickness, including the body portion 20 and bars 12 and 16. A suitable thickness is approximately 0.05 inch, but satisfactory results, depending somewhat upon the rigidity, resistance to deflection or self-supporting characteristics of the specific synthetic plastics material employed, are obtainable with sheet materials about 0.03 to 0.1 inch thick.

In use, in the opening of cans of pressurized liquid, such as cans of beer or carbonated beverages, the spurting may occur with greatest force just as point 18 pierces the can top. Before the puncture is completed, the natural effect of applying the necessary force on the opener, including downward force applied by the thumb 19 against a hump 8 and against portion 22 of the shield, is to force the body 20 of the shield downwardly into the full line position of Fig. l. The force of thumb 19 also maintains portion 22 firmly against the upper surface of head 9. Thus when the original puncture is made, the shield is disposed over the puncture though spaced a short distance thereabove. The spray strikes the body portion 20 and is prevented from reaching the hand of the operator or from passing out of the space within the confines of the head 11 and the shield. Following the initial puncture, as the triangular opening is cut in the can top, bubbles and liquid issuing from the opening are likewise trapped under the shield body and within the can bead.

While the peripheral edge 13 of the shield as shown defines a hexagon, it will be apparent that the shield may be of any of many other shapes, such as round, oval, square, semicircular, or octagonal. It has been found, however, that much more efficient operation obtains if the shield is at least of great enough area and extent to cover. not less than the semicircular half of the can top toward the opener and to extend over and in contact with the upper edge of head 11 on both sides of head 9, as shown for example in Fig. 2. Thus the body portion 20 should extend forwardly and sidewardly from portion 22 distances corresponding, for example, to at least several times the length of slot 14. As so arranged, space remains under the shield and inside the bead 11 which can accommodate a substantial volume of spray, bubbles and liquid. It is also desirable, to insure sufficient space for such bubbles and liquid and to provide intimate contact of the shield along portions of the upper edge of the head, that the shield have the slight side to side curvature or slight arched shape indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, and as also indicated at 1' in Fig. 1. As the thumb presses down on portion 22 of the shield, swinging the shield into the full line position of Fig. l, the shield meets the bead 11 on both sides of the head 9 and becomes substantially flat while firmly engaging the bead along the sides of the shield. The forward portion 23 of the shield may not be flattened, but since the spray is directed more rearwardly toward the opener than forwardly, it has been found unnecessary that portion 23 be in contact with the head 11.

Figs. 5 and 6 disclose a modified shield 24 having a generally semicircular flat body portion 25 slotted at 26 and 27 to provide bars 28 and 29 arranged, as in the first described embodiment, to attach the shield to a can opener 4. In the modified construction, a depending flange or skirt 30 is joined along the semicircular bounding edge 31 of the body portion 25 to provide protection for the hand of the operator and to intercept any spray which might be directed toward the body of the person operating the opener. Adjacent and underlying bar, a notch 32, preferably tapered to be slightly wider at its upper end than at its lower end, is provided as an interruption in the skirt to receive handle 6 and thereby to permit the opener 4 to be attached to and detached from the shield device in the manner described above in connection with the preferred embodiment. It will be understood that the yieldable nature of the, for example, polyethylene or polyvinyl or the like sheet material employed for the shield device including the skirt of the modified construction, these being materials suggested for use in the first described embodiment, permits the skirt adjacent notch 32 to bend as necessary to pass the handle 6 of the opener when the opener and shield are being attached or detached to or from each other.

The skirt 30 is conveniently joined along the arcuate rearward edge 31 to body portion 25 by means of heat sealing or by the use of solvent welding, as is known in the art. The edge 31 and skirt 30 have a radius greater than'that of the can and in use are disposed outwardly of the can head 11. The forward edge 33 of the shield body portion 25 may be a straight line, but it preferably defines a forwardly extended tab 34 disposed midway between the sides of the shield body and positioned to provide additional protection near but forward of the point of puncture. The edge 33 of the body portion is, in any event, arranged to be'beyond the point of puncture, while tab 34 may extend almost to the farthest portion of the can bead 11.

The operation of the modified shield, being substantially that heretofore described in connection with Figs. 1 through 4, is believed obvious. The operators thumb forces down on portion 35 of the shield body, immediately forward of the hump 8, as force is applied to the opener to cause the initial puncture, and this thumb pressure swings the shield from the full line position 24 into the broken line position 24. The bars 28 and 29 and the portion 35 yield in the manner heretofore described for bars 12 and 16 and portion 22 of the first embodiment, and the shield may slide a little along hump 8 as it swings downwardly toward the top of the can, and these portions yield slightly as opening proceeds as necessary to permit the appropriate motion of the can opener into the broken line position 4' thereof.

While only certain preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that it be understood that it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The attachable spray shield device for a can opener of the type comprising an elongated fiat bar-like handle terminating in a forwardly extending downwardly inclined cutting punch joined to the forward end of said handle by an upwardly offset hump adapted to extend over the beaded rim of the can and with a bead-engaging hook underlying and spaced below said hump, said attachable spray shield device comprising a substantially flat yieldable sheet having a bounding edge, a narrow, elongated bar portion of said sheet joined at its ends to the body of said sheet, said bar portion being defined by a slot through said sheet spaced inwardly of and parallel to the adjacent edge portion, said slot having a length and width fittingly to receive the forward end of said handle at said hump, a second bar portion parallel to and of substantially the size and shape of said first bar portion and joined at its ends to the body of said sheet defined by a second slot parallel to, spaced inwardly from and of substantially the size and shape of said first slot, said second bar portion being proportioned in width to fit within the hollow formed under said hump, said sheet extending laterally outwardly and forwardly from said bar portions to overlie at least the semicircular half of the area of the top of the can being opened when said first bar portion is disposed across the top surface of said handle immediately behind said hump, when said second bar portion is disposed under said hump and when said cutting punch is positioned to extend downwardly through said second slot.

2. A shield for attachment to a can opener, said shield comprising a generally flat, yieldable synthetic plastic sheet material member having a continuous bounding edge and a main body portion therewithin, said member having two parallel, elongated, coextensive, spaced slots located adjacent a rear portion of said edge and generally parallel to said portion of said edge, an outer first one of said slots defining with said portion of said edge an elongated narrow bar joined at its ends to said body portion and extending along said portion of said edge, a second bar defined between said slots parallel to, spaced inwardly of and of substantially the size and shape of said first bar and joined at its ends to said body portion, all of said slots and bars being of substantially equal widths and lengths and each having a length dimension at least approximately three times its width dimension, said bars and body having a thickness of approximately one-half to one-third of the width of each of said bars and slots, said edge extending outwardly and forwardly from said portion for a distance several times the length of one of said slots and further extending generally inwardly to provide a forward edge portion spaced from said slots by several times the length of one said slot, said body portion forming an impervious shield within said edge.

3. A shield, for attachment to a can opener of the type comprising a fiat bar handle having a bead-spanning hump at its forward end and a generally triangular, pointed, fiat puncturing head joined to said hump and extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom and a bead-engageable hook underlying a cavity formed under said hump, said shield comprising a substantially flat sheet of yieldable material having sufiicient rigidity and resilience to be self supporting and to return to said substantially flat shape following forceable deflection therefrom, said sheet having a body portion to overlie the top of a can, an attachment portion and an edge encompassing said body and attachment portions, said attachment portion co prising a pair of parallel, spaced, coextensive bars each attached at each end to said body portion and defined by a pair of coextensive slots parallel to the portion of the edge of said sheet at said attachment portion, one said slot being adjacent and spaced inwardly of said portion of said edge and the other said slot being spaced inwardly of said one slot, one said bar being formed between said one slot and said portion of said edge and the other said bar being formed between said slots, said other bar being proportioned and arranged to nest in said cavity across the breadth of and under said hump, said one bar being adapted and arranged to lie across the upper surface of said handle immediately adjacent said hump, and said body portion being positioned and arranged to extend forwardly from said attachment portion and to overlie said head and to extend forwardly and outwardly of said head when said shield is attached to said opener by nesting said other bar in said cavity and disposing said one bar across the upper surface of said handle immediately adjacent said hump.

4. The attachable spray shield device for a can opener of the type comprising an elongated flat bar-like handle terminating in a forwardly extending downwardly inclined cutting punch joined to the forward end of said handle by an upwardly offset hump adapted to extend over the beaded rim of the can and with a bead-engaging hook underlying and spaced below said hump, said attachable spray shield device comprising a substantially fiat yieldable sheet having a bounding edge, an arrow, elongated bar portion of said sheet joined at its ends to the body of said sheet, said bar portion being defined by a slot through said sheet spaced inwardly of and parallel to the adjacent edge portion, said slot having a length and width fittingly to receive the forward end of said handle at said hump, a second bar portion parallel to and of substantially the size and shape of said first bar portion and joined at its ends to the body of said sheet defined by a second slot parallel to, spaced inwardly from and of substantially the size and shape of said first slot, said second bar portion being proportioned in Width to fit Within the hollow formed under said hump, said bounding edge conforming from side to side and across the rear of said device to a continuous substantially semicircular convex arc, a depending skirt joined to said sheet along said are, said skirt being interrupted adjacent said first bar portion to receive said handle, said sheet extending laterally outwardly and forwardly from said bar portions to overlie at least the semicircular half of the area of the top of the can being opened when said first bar portion is disposed across the top surface of said handle immediately behind said hump, when said second bar portion is disposed under said hump and when said cutting punch is positioned to extend downwardly through said second slot.

No references cited. 

